2002 GMC Sierra - Louisiana Red

The Definition Of Hot

A few things come to mind when thinking about the Bayou; spicy Cajun cuisine, and thermometer-bursting hot sauce top our list, but there is a new heat wave coming up on the Southern horizon that is sure to burn its mark on our collective memory bank. Full-blown customs are literally spilling over Louisiana's state line, and luckily, we've been there to help document the glistening outflux.

Our first glimpse of Brandon "BJ" Welcome's '02 GMC Sierra occurred at the Midnight Fantasies' 2010 Lake Front Tour held at the Lake Charles Civic Center. Even while stuck in the corner inside of the indoor arena of the show grounds, its radioactive red shell was beckoning out from across the hall. Although BJ's truck had made its official debut a month prior at the Relaxin' On The Bayou show, it had managed to elude an interested photographer's camera lens, which seemed like a major improbability given its severely photogenic physique.

After grilling BJ about the history behind his ridiculously clean rig, he informed us that he couldn't find a local shop that could deliver the degree of suspension work that he was after, so he ended up looking west to Ekstensive Metalworks in Houston. While there, his then mostly stock truck received the works: A complete air-ride setup complete with Belltech 2-inch drop springs, shocks, Firestone 'bags, and a custom two-link with Panhard bar to top things off. With a foundation like that, there was no way BJ was going to settle for just any set of rollers, so he stepped up to 22-inch color-matched Raceline Speedster billets for a sporty touch of style that's pretty much unbeatable.

Since BJ shipped his truck out of state to have the suspension handled, he figured that keeping his truck in the Lone Star State was his best bet to getting exactly what he wanted. The next stop on the GMC's road trip was Pristine Image, in Humble, Texas, where it was shaved clean of its cab seams, taillights, and pesky door handles. A Sir Michaels roll pan and LED tails were grafted to the Sierra's skin for a stunning, streamlined appearance. BJ knew that he wanted his truck to take on a classic image that would stand tall against time, so he recruited Dave Flint to stir a few elegant coats of BASF Audi red into the mix.

A motorcycle gas cap makes for asubtle, eclectic addition to the long list of modifications made to the Sierra.

A motorcycle gas cap makes for asubtle, eclectic addition to the long list of modification

These 22x8.5-inch Raceline Speedster billet wheels and 265/35R22 Nitto rubber look like they were designed exclusively for BJ's GMC.